Jeff Wasserman is the winner of the 2016 EDVARD Prize in the Lyrics category for "Promised Land", from the album "Tears of the world" with Knut Reiersrud and Mighty Sam McClain, released by Kirkelig Kulturverksted in 2015.
/ 16/09/2016 / Willy Martinsen– It feels really good to be noticed after so many years as a backer in the industry. I am incredibly proud, says Jeff Wasserman. – I hope this means that I will also be noticed as a frontman, now that I have the album "Meeting of the Waters".
Wasserman was awarded the EDVARD Prize 2016 in the Lyrics category for "Promised Land" at the Norwegian Americana Festival at Grefsenkollen in Oslo on Friday, September 16. The work's co-composer, Knut Reiersrud, presented the prize on behalf of the jury and TONO. The prize consists of a trophy by Bruno Oldani, a diploma and kr 50,000.
The jury's reasoning summarizes it all very nicely, and can be read here:
«We've all heard the music, but few know the man behind the lyrics to some of Norway's most famous songs. From "Everyone Needs A Friend", "Tell Me Where You're Going" to "Moving Time" and many more.
Jeff Wasserman came to Norway in the 80s from Oyster Bay outside New York, and has made a career as both a lyricist and performer. He has lyrics and works on over 75 albums and over 300 works in TONO. In 2009 he was also nominated for Spellemann with the text "Keep Her from Going to You".
Through his wordplay, Wasserman has shown that he can write about different topics and with a varied language. He writes from the heart, poetically, soulfully and with humor, and can also spice it up with authentic slang.
In 2015 he wrote 3 lyrics for the album that also received the Spellemannsprisen for Blues, "Tears of The World" with Knut Reiersrud and Mighty Sam McClain. In the lyrics "Promised Land" Wasserman describes the longing, dreams and disappointments of a life, and the realization of having discovered the perfect in the imperfect. The promised land is not a place you are looking for, it is where you are, and it can take a long life before you realize it.
“Promised Land” tells of a life lived, of humanity and hope, and strikes a universal nerve we can all identify with, and which earned Jeff Wasserman the Edvard Prize for Literature in 2015.
The jury for the Edvard Prize 2016 consisted of:
Therese Birkelund Ulvo, Claudia Scott, Rita Engedalen, Nils Henrik Asheim, Arvid Wam Solvang and Jan Stefan Bengtsson.
About the EDVARD Prize
The EDVARD Prize is named after Edvard Grieg, and is a prize that TONO has awarded annually since 1998, and which is awarded to authors who have created musical works and lyrics for music of high artistic quality. With the prize, TONO wants to increase attention to Norwegian composers and lyricists, and to increase Norwegians' understanding of and knowledge of newly written Norwegian music. The winner's music or lyrics must have been premiered or published in the previous year. Emphasis is also placed on the author's other production.
Read more about Jeff Wasserman at his websites or Wikipedia.